So today it's official, I'm a certified Colorado bartender.  I still have to go back and take a T.I.P.S class.  This gives me certification on the P.O.S system and also teaches me more about when to cut someone off.  Here it looks like I'll be the one prosecuted if someone drives drunk and hurts anyone so it's a good thing to learn.  Looks like that will be happening on next Saturday.  My last 4 hour class for awhile. 

I'm speechless.  All I can say is at least there is a version with out socks. 
Designed by:  Bruno Frisoni

I have had the pleasure of meeting, spending a few nights in the studio and even an amazing dinner with this legend of the music industry and there was no one nicer than him in New York.  Since Walter's studio, Sear Sound, is strictly analog Pete worked there quite a few times.  After the clients would leave Walter would always sit us down, get a bottle of wine and we'd have the most amazing discussions about all the details of analog recording.  Now I know to most people this doesn't sound like an enjoyable evening but when you are listing to someone as knowledgeable and articulate as he was, you never want him to stop talking.  A half hour before Pete told me I was looking through the studio pictures and he was the only person I was missing.  I thought to myself the next time we're in NY we have to stop by and see him.  He will be dearly missed.

For those of you who have never heard of this amazing man I suggest reading his "Wiki".  He had the most amazing stories because he lived such an extraordinary life.  He was an amazing story teller, totally upfront and never held back his opinion.  I found an "article" that he did and I think it conveys his personality perfectly.

Walter Sear's Analog Rules By Steve Guttenberg   •   March, 2005
The first thing you notice about Walter Sear's "legendary Manhattan studio" is that it feels so darn comfortable. Sear Sound doesn't have a wall of gold records, gleaming million-dollar consoles, or the latest high-resolution digital workstations, but a quick stroll around the three studios reveals a treasure trove of tube and analog professional gear: a pair of Sgt. Pepper–era Studer recorders plucked from EMI's Abbey Road studios; an early Modular Moog synthesizer Sear built with Bob Moog; and a collection of 250 new and classic microphones.

Sear Sound's clientele runs the gamut, from Paul McCartney to Wilco, Patti Smith, Phish, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Wynton Marsalis, and Norah Jones. Starting out as a tuba player, Sear also designed and manufactured tubas, which led to stops along the way as producer, engineer, filmmaker, composer, arranger, and technician—but I tried to focus on his current domain, Sear Sound. The studio's motto reflects its founder's disarmingly frank outlook: "The recorded sound sucks—we're trying to make it better."

Steve Guttenberg: Walter, you started out as a tuba player and now you're a big-shot studio owner—what a long, strange trip it's been.
Walter Sear: I was brought up to expect things to fail or change, so I'm always developing backstops, many of which became primary sources of income. I originally fell into the studio business because I needed a showroom to sell Moog synthesizers, and while I was doing that I was arranging music for commercials and films. Bob Fine [of Mercury Records] mentored me a little bit, and I built my first studio with Russ Hamm in 1970.

Guttenberg: When did you first meet Robert Moog?
Sear: Doctor Moog. We started floating in and out of each other's lives in the late '50s—I was building my first Theremin, and he sold me some transformers.

Guttenberg: It seems that the creative potential of the Doctor's invention was never utilized.
Sear: No, it was used to eliminate musicians and save money. I sold synths to music-production houses that I had worked for as a musician. The trouble with the instrument was that you really had to invest a year or two learning what it could do. But it had a marvelous quality that no other instrument, before or since, has had—you could tune the harmonics above the fundamental to non–whole-number ratios. You could make sounds no one ever heard before—that was the purpose of the instrument. In the early '70s I scored a bunch of films, including Blue Water, White Death, and Let's Scare Jessica to Death, on a Moog.

Guttenberg: You also played on the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack.
Sear: That's a sad story. John Barry came around to hear what I could do on the Moog, so I played a few things. He was so impressed he asked to use my phone, called the studio where he was working on the score, and sent the musicians home. It was the beginning of the end.

Guttenberg: So you were part of the problem...
Sear: The producers didn't understand the capabilities of the instrument—and they still don't. It takes imagination to think of a sound no one has ever heard before. The Moog could have been a contender, but I didn't sell what it could do hard enough. Then again, it all started in the 13th century, with the invention of the hurdy-gurdy, the first instrument designed to eliminate musicians.

Guttenberg: And you did some pop stuff too?
Sear: I played the bass line on Simon & Garfunkel's tune "Save the Life of My Child"—it does a glissando and a crescendo at the same time. Listen to it, and you'll see no acoustic instrument can do that. Okay, maybe I could have faked it on tuba if I'd worked hard enough.

Guttenberg: Why does it seem as if most of the "advances" in recording technology have had a negative effect on musical values?
Sear: The level of pop musicianship has gone down—they can't play anymore. That's why multitrack was invented, which in some ways further destroyed music.

Guttenberg: How's that?
Sear: People wanted perfect recordings. Listen, I earned my living as a professional musician for 45 years in New York, and I occasionally cracked a note, and busted a number of good ones in my career. But the musicality was there. Somewhere along the way, the audiences wanted live performances to sound like recordings. So I learned not to try to hit those triple-forte notes anymore, I played it safe, and the music suffered for it. Same thing applied to recording sessions—the producer wouldn't hire you again unless you played it safe. With multitrack you can record one instrument at a time, and you just keep punching in until you make it perfect. But after 28 takes, what have you got? And now, with digital editing systems, you can pitch-correct an out-of-tune vocal, but that always diminishes the performance. Lose that, and you've lost the music.

Guttenberg: Why did the musicians go along with this?
Sear: Starting around 1980, it started slipping away; we forgot what it's all about. The engineers had all of these new knobs and toys, so they were distracted. Either through ignorance or necessity, recording has become a separate art, no longer related to music. We further lost it when CDs came in 20 years ago and the audience stopped listening.

Guttenberg: Tell it, Brother Sear!
Sear: There's a big commercial juggernaut plowing through the industry—and killing it. The traditions should be passed down through the culture, but since they're no longer economically viable, we're losing them. I've been screaming about this stuff for years.

Guttenberg: It wasn't always this way.
Sear: When I came into the industry, we did an album's worth of music in three to six hours—the musicians played, we recorded the music, and it sounded great.

Guttenberg: You recorded entire albums, without a digital workstation, in a few hours—imagine that! Can your engineers balance the levels of the instruments and vocals without compressors?
Sear: I teach my guys, "Keep your fingers on the faders and your eyes on the meters. You should know when the singer is going to run out of air at the end of the phrase; you'll push the fader up to compensate. When the drummer's hitting the cymbals a little too hard, you nudge the fader down." Fact is, I can be a much better "compressor" than a piece of equipment.

Guttenberg: Norah Jones did both of her records here, and her engineers never ran her voice through a compressor?
Sear: Not that I know of—it didn't require it. Listen, those were very quick sessions, and her producer, Arif Mardin, he is of my generation, so he doesn't piss money away. Funny, Norah never sent me a CD of that first recording, but when she came back to record her second record she gave me a 200gm LP of the first record. I took it home and listened to it four times! It's magnificent!

Guttenberg: So there are hopeful signs.
Sear: Can we get back on track? I don't know. But at least I can say my studio is eminently successful, so it seems like there are enough people out there who can hear a difference and care about good sound. Look at our client list. We just did Wilco's new record, A Ghost Is Born, here—they initially booked the studio for three weeks and stayed three months.

Guttenberg: I can see why. It's so comfortable in here.
Sear: That's because I know the feel is critical, and it's 99% of getting good performances. They play better when they feel good. Sure, the other studios have $900,000 consoles and the most up-to-date editing software, but I don't have any of that because I only buy decent-sounding stuff. The big studios forgot the point of it all—the sound. They're intrigued with new technology, which, let's face it, has mostly to do with fixing bad performances. But if it's not happening on the other side of the glass, if the spark isn't there, technology can't save you. It will never be right. If you can't play, you shouldn't be in a recording studio.

Guttenberg: What can you provide to help get the best possible performances from the musicians?
Sear: Food. You want to keep that blood sugar up, so we always make sure there's something to munch on. It's essential. We do everything we can to avoid technical delays—they're deadly, and kill inspiration. And I have competent personnel—you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. The studio should pay its employees a decent wage. Always have a smile. And the boss—that's me—meets them at the door when they arrive, and the boss says "Good night" when they leave at 2am. They know I'm here to make sure they get what they need.

Guttenberg: Of all the different microphone types, your favorites are all omnidirectionals.
Sear: Oh yes, if you're not worried about leakage and you're not going to replace tracks, omnis are the way to go. The natural pattern of any capacitive microphone is omni; the way you get it directional is by putting a DC charge on the backplate, but then it's not as linear. That's why most mikes sound better in omni. We live in a world of reflections and echoes, and if they aren't there, the recording doesn't sound real.

Guttenberg: A lot of engineers are spending fortunes on old Neumann mikes.
Sear: Because the musicality is there—and sure, the damn thing's frequency response looks like the Swiss Alps, but who cares? Just remember, it was designed to record orchestras from 12' up, and 12' back from the proscenium arch. But now they're shoving the same microphone against the singer's tonsils and expect it to sound good. I usually put a dummy mike right up to the singer, and the live mike back 3' or 4'.

Guttenberg: Sear Sound is an all-analog enclave?
Sear: Yes, but I don't tell the client what to do. They can bring in any equipment they want, and I never interfere artistically. It's not what I'm here for. What can I say? We're always booked, and we have clients coming back for the fourth or fifth time.

Guttenberg: Like Lou Reed?
Sear: He's a real professional, but he can be a little quick-tempered at times. I'll tell you, he doesn't come here to experiment—he knows what he wants, and gets the job done. He's serious, like the Beatles' bass player.

Guttenberg: Sir Paul...
Sear: He does his job, boom boom boom, and goes home. It's the way a professional works. Of course, I also see a lot of producers who don't know much about recording or music, but I shouldn't complain—the longer they stay, the more money I make.

Guttenberg: Any other big stars you care to mention?
Sear: The guy from New Jersey, what's-his-name...his wife, Patti Scialfa, did her first record here.

Guttenberg: Springsteen's wife?
Sear: Yeah, but he mostly napped on the couch.

Guttenberg: Which reminds me—is there any hope for digital?
Sear: SACD sounds pretty good, but the decisions about the future of the format are being made on the corporate level, and those guys are even less competent than the underlings who make records. Now that we have blue lasers, I'm hopeful digital will get a lot better.

Guttenberg: I suppose you're not a huge supporter of surround sound.
Sear: Under ideal conditions, maybe. It's a shame that the industry puts so much energy into subverting musical values. Surround is mostly used as a distraction, but if you record great music you'll appeal to the heart and soul of people. If you get chills and the hair on the back of your neck stands up, you're there.

Guttenberg: What are you working on now?
Sear: I'm going to start my own, vinyl-only label, and I'd like to start with Mozart quintets. We'll do a day of rehearsing, followed by a six-hour session, and that's it. I'll repeat the performances on the flip side of the record, recorded with different equipment. Side 1 gets a pair of AKG microphones into my Ampex 300 tube recorder, the other side will feature a pair of Neumanns into my tube Studer—and that's it. No edits, no consoles, only complete, honest performances of each movement. That's my master plan, but all of my friends think I'm nuts.

Guttenberg: Why not record direct to disc?
Sear: Too expensive, and the master should be plated within 12 hours of the session. And it's not realistic to expect the instruments to stay in tune through four movements. Direct to disc is too difficult.

Guttenberg: So why not also release CDs and make a little money?
Sear: Never! I don't want to make money, I just want to make good recordings. I'm doing this because I hope people will realize what they've been missing. I've had a pretty full life—I've played tuba, made a bunch of films, manufactured tubas and guitar amplifiers, sold Moogs. I've been married 52 years and had two kids. I did all of these things because I get bored easily. That's why I'm always on to something new.


When I read the article I can still hear him saying those things.  Because he said a lot of the same stuff to us.  It's such a great example of how to keep passionate about the things you love.  I'll have to check around to see if he ever got to make any of the records for his label.  I know that he fell a few months ago and had been in the hospital getting rehab for his hip and wasn't doing the best.  But this interview was done in 2005 and I know when we had dinner it was around 2007.  I would feel like the luckiest person on earth if I could get my hands on one. 

This is a friend of ours, Jack who owns The Maids Room shown in some pictures in the Studio album.  I was reading blogs yesterday to see what people were saying and I was surprised to see his name.  There isn't one person that has anything bad to say about Walter.

__________________
www.themaidsroom.com
http://www.last.fm/music/Jack+McKeever

Steve Carell, of The 40 year old Virgin and Date Night fame, has decided that he will be quitting his highly popular TV show, The Office, after next season.  I really don't know if it could go on without him.  It'll be a bummer to not have that to watch anymore.  

So today we were supposed to start getting snow near the 5:00 commute but when I opened the blinds this morning we already had about 4 inches.  This will be the first time that I've had to drive into Denver in snow like this.  Thankfully it's Thursday and tomorrow will be the last day I have to go into the city for this week.  I'm a little nervous but I'll be leaving early so I can take my time.  6% grades are a scary thing in the snow!


So I wrote that little bit earlier this morning and now I'm back from class.  To show you how crazy the weather is here this is now what the pool area looks like

Last night before Pete got home I was watching TV and there was a commercial for this new huge store in Denver opening up that offers designer home furnishings for reduced prices.
Their gimmick is that they are only open on weekends, it's what one of the W's in WOW stands for.  Anyway, today when I was done with class there were two guys waiting for the elevator talking about it.  When we all got in the elevator I excused my eavesdropping and mentioned I had just heard about it.  He told me he went to the opening party last night and they have $6,000 Italian Leather couches for $1,500 and anything else you would need for your house.  I'm a little nervous about the weekend crowd but I think saving 50-60%, he said that's the average, is worth it.  Especially if I can find some kitchen stuff, we're dying for more storage.  

According to DeBeers:
"Diamonds are a treasure of nature that should be properly protected, because there will be less to sell. The reality is that supply cannot keep up, and that will become very accentuated over the next 15 years."

So Pete surprised me and was home for dinner tonight so I needed to throw something together.  I decided that today is the perfect day to unveil the Luger Sauce.  I made this the other day finally!  Now I don't need to wait for someone to send me any.

So here is what I decided I needed to use for the sauce:
Ketchup
Yellow Mustard
Brown Sugar
White Vinegar
Horseradish
Here is the final product, Pete did add a little more horseradish to his tonight with dinner so next time I'll be adding more of that too.

I pulled 2 artichokes from the freezer.  They hold up really good I was surprised.  It's nice to know I'll be able to get veggies on sale or from the farmers market and after a little bit of work we'll be able to eat whatever we like year round and totally natural.  As suggested by Martha I made Thyme butter.  So good every time and it can't get any easier.  Melt butter and herbs, done!

I had some red potatoes to use up so I made Smashed Potatoes with sour cream and thyme.  They were a little bland, I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't taste.  Always a mistake.  We added some of the Hawaiian salt and it made such a difference.  

This was from a few days ago.  Not too much but still after a few days of 70 degree weather it was a total shock.  You never know what will happen here in Colorado.  It was 80 in Denver today and I think we might get more snow in the next few days.

Any of who watch The Hills will get a kick out of this spoof.  Especially when you see Heidi post surgery, lol.

So since they've made almost every soybean consumed in the United States Round up Ready, or in other words modified so horribly that after 3 generations any lab rat fed these soy beans were sterile or their babies die in less than 3 months, has decided to make alfalfa Round up Ready also.
Now this terrifies me.  They already act like the mob when it comes to Soybean farmers that try to grow organic.  If there are any Round up Ready soybeans found planted in a field of a farmer who is not affiliated with them watch out cause they'll come after you.  Even if the seeds were carried by the wind and deposited in your field.  They believe that you will try to perform some sort of espionage and extract the genetic code that makes them 'special', deadly is more like it. 

I wish people would just leave our food alone.  I know big companies don't care and it's all about the bottom dollar but people are getting cancer younger and younger and what's changed so much in the past 30 years?  Food!  Do they think they are immune because of their fat wallet?  If I had the capital I would love to start an organic farm.  No matter what I have to sacrifice I refuse to pump any kids I have full of that shit.

Nothing much going on here today.  Pete went to hang with some friends after picking up his gear for his rafting training next week.  Now if we ever want to go we can do it ourselves.  I think that's so much better than going with a bunch of gapers. 

Class today was great as usual.  The thing I love best about my instructor is that he's a chef as well as having 25 years experience in the restaurant business.  It's been nice to pick his brain and not have to feel bad about taking time from the rest of the class.  Plus he thinks that the passion I have for cooking will only do good things to help me move up the ranks faster.  He said you can't teach someone passion and a smile so I'm already a head of the game.  Who would have thought that the angst ridden teenager I was would eventually morph into a smiling adult.  Not me that's for sure!  But when I engage people I do tend to smile a lot so as long as it works in my favor I have no complaints.  But I do have permission to break out the Brooklyn if someone crosses the line.  Always good to know.

Now I've mentioned all the crazy things you see here, but I really think NY is trying to pull me back because all I've been seeing lately are yellow cabs.  Here is one I saw at Wal-Mart. 
I had to stop and think where I was for a second.  I would like to know who doesn't have a car here?  Seriously!  I mean there is public transportation in Denver, buses and the elevated subway, and a free shuttle that runs in summit county to all the ski resorts but that's it.  If you expect to get anywhere here you better have a car.

Then on the way and home from my class I pass a vintage cab with a Thule case on it.  For those of you that don't know, a Thule case is a large plastic storage unit on the top of your car.  It can be used for any kind of gear but I would think it's most well known for being packed full of skies so you can fit more people in the car.  Only in Colorado would you see something like this.

 I'm not sure what's up with Pete for dinner so more than likely I'll be making some organic soup and a sandwich.  I don't need anything special when it's just me.  I cooked a bunch before my class started so since we're on a weird schedule I have a daily food post even if I don't make anything for dinner.  Isn't that the way it always should be?

This video was taking from a league championship for Yugoslavia's equivalent of the NBA.  Below is a copy of the "Yahoo post" that explains what's going on since the video is not in English. 

With eight seconds remaining in overtime of the NLB League championship and his team, Partizan, leading by one point, former Mississippi State star Lawrence Roberts missed two free throws. Their Croatian opponent, Cibona, grabbed the rebound and quickly moved the ball down the court. With 0.6 seconds left, Bojan Bogdanovich hit a 3-pointer, giving Cibona a two-point lead and setting off a raucous celebration by the home crowd, players and coaches. And then things got even crazier.

Here's the video, taken from the top with Roberts' missed free throws. Things get so nuts in the aftermath of Cibona's go-ahead shot that the Croatian TV broadcast doesn't capture Partizan's miracle buzzer beater because it was too busy showing Cibona's premature celebration. The replay of the heaved prayer by Dusan Kecman is shown at the 4:27 mark.

Fruit of the Loom has come up with the idea of a customizable bra.  For $5 each you can "pick" what each individual cup on your bra will be. 

I had picked this up awhile ago and since I'm trying to clean out the pantry I decided to whip 'em up.  I noticed that you could also make cheesecake bars and I had just enough in the house to pull it off so I decided to go that route.

So today and yesterday, for me anyway, was my bartending class.  Here is a shot of the room I've been practicing in.
I love that I am the only person in the class, I was hoping it would be less people since it was during the week and during the day. 

My teacher is awesome and anyone in the Denver area please check out Estella Bartending School cause its the best out there. 

Pete's been keeping busy while I'm out of the house.  He was skiing yesterday, day 83, and today he wasn't feeling that well but he did run to Clear Creek Outdoor and checked in on something I heard last night on the radio.  I thought, now mind you I was almost asleep, that I heard a commercial for unlimited fishing, camping and hiking fees for an entire year for the whole family for only $60.  The closest camping to us, our first place in Colorado, was $14 a night so you can see how fast you would make it to $60.  Plus, we plan on camping a lot so it would be great.  Rob, the owner of the store, didn't know what that was so hopefully we'll hear it tonight so we can see where to buy it. 

Vogue Magazine, run by "Anna Wintour", auctioned off a week long internship and it went for a whopping $42,500!  That means the winner (aka "trustafarian") is paying over $8,000 a day to fetch coffee and be treated like a "peaon". 

Such a sad and horrible story from the NY Post.  A homeless man was stabbed after helping a woman who was being mugged and was left to die on the street as more than 20 people walked by him and did nothing.

This is one of the most innovative fashion ideas I've seen in a while, even though I don't promote ruining analog tape.  The real stuff of course, not the cassette tapes shown.

Alyce Santoro, the brilliant designer that came up with Sonic Fabric Neckties, also decided to use recycled tapes said to be filled with recordings from the streets of New York City, which is so awesome.  I also read that if you rub a tape head over them you can hear the faint sound of music.  I'll have to confirm with Pete if he thinks that's something that could really happen, but it's a cool idea none the less.

So today was a typical Sunday around here.  It's been pretty common the past few weeks that the races are getting rained out.  Today we watched the Sprint race, and the Nationwide race.  Plus baseball in between.  Pete loves to flip between channels. 

Other than that I finally got around to trying my first attempt at making Luger sauce.  I thought it came out pretty good.  Pete suggested more onion and I'll agree with that.  Next time.  I did take pictures but I'll be posting it separately when I get them on the computer. 

The picture above us what's included in the Peter Luger Ultimate Gift Set, only $299.  I do have to admit that I love the apron.  I'll have to see if they sell them at the restaurant in Brooklyn, if they do I'll have to pick one up the next time we're in NY.

Tomorrow I start my 2 week bartending course.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.  But how hard can it be?  I've managed to be successful at much harder careers so I think it's just the unknown freaking me out.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

So we had some drumsticks that we grabbed at the store this week and when Pete suggested it for dinner it sounded so good I couldn't say no.  Plus it's the easiest thing to make.

What you'll need:
6 chicken drumsticks
15 mini red potatoes - Cut in quarters
6 carrots
1 yellow onion
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

To start I seasoned the chicken with salt & pepper, Adobo and Spike Seasoning and of course some olive oil. I can thank Josie for introducing me to Adobo.  It's the best for seasoning chicken, pork or anything else you can think of.  The Spike seasoning was mentioned a lot in Naturally Thin.  I stumbled across it in the store a few months ago and I've never looked back.

I chopped all the veggies and tossed them with salt & pepper and olive oil so they would roast in the oven.  I checked my book and Martha has a recipe for roasting carrots but it was with parsnips so I decided to wait to do it her way next time.  Then everything was put in the roasting pan.

I cooked it for about 2 hours.  I thought it was only going to take about an hour.  Thank goodness we weren't in a hurry to eat.  It came out so good and, what I love the most about cooking dishes like this, we had leftovers. 

Johnny Weir is set to release his book in January 2011.  His publisher Gallery Books says the book will be a 'collection of wildly entertaining anecdotes and essays about everything from pop culture to skating to fashion to Johnny himself.'  He's a riot on his show so I can only imagine what will be in the book.  Sounds like a good read.

Now these didn't come out as nice as I wanted them to but everyone really liked them.  I was given some homemade caramel from a friend.  Not the traditional recipe, it was honey based, so it was a little more runny than I'm used to.  Plus I haven't gotten my disposable pastry bags yet.  If I had them I could have piped it onto the pecans and it would have been much easier but I managed. 

What you'll need:
26 Pecan Halves
1/4 cup caramel
1/4 bag milk chocolate chips

I had laid out the pecans for two sizes.  I wanted to do 1 pecan for bite size chocolates and then the standard 3 pecan formation.

Next I spooned the caramel and as you can see it was a little runny.  I kept putting the tray in the freezer so I could mold them a little better.  It really helped. 
I got my water boiling and put a glass bowl on top to double boil the chocolate and instead of dipping them like I should have a just put a dollop on top and smoothed it out. 


The problem with not dipping them was the caramel was under the pecans and I ended up having to stick them to a sheet of parchment paper .  It worked out and I have some in the freezer for any guests that we'll have coming to visit.  Quantities are limited. 

I hope our kids will have this much passion about anything at such a young age!

Here is another food documentary that was recommended to me by the owner of the local gardening store.  I plan on watching it later today.

I can't believe that the tents will no longer be in Bryant Park for Fashion Week.  It's nice to know that they will be moving to my absolutely favorite place in NY, Lincoln Center.  It's a shame I didn't go there as much as I could have, it's so far uptown, but ever since the first time Pete took me there I fell in love.

I'm not sure how I feel about the additional building, labeled Mercedes-Benz in the photo below, that they are erecting to house the shows.  The layout of that property feels so serene, and that's hard to find in the city.

So we decided to make some fried stuff for dinner.  Not the best choice but it came out really good. 

Pete was in charge of the wings and I think they came out great.  The sauce was a little spicy but tasty. 
To make the sauce:
1 Cup Franks Red Hot
2 T butter

Heat over medium heat in a sauce pan.  Toss with the wings after they've been fried. 

I served it with some veggies and blue cheese.  We're almost done with the Marie's Blue Cheese we bought on sale.  Thank goodness it stays good for so long. 

I fried up some fries for Pete and Okra for me.  I decided to make some horseradish mayo for the fries and of course I served the Okra with ranch. 
Since it was so rich I couldn't eat that much but boy was it good. 

So it's been raining & snowing the past two days and Clear Creek is finally filling up and turning to white water.  Here is a shot that shows the water level.  It's really more the sound of it since this is as close as I can get.  But you can see it a little. 



Pete's snowboard finally showed up from Cali.  This was one of the last ones left in the size he needed.  Plus we got a pretty sweet deal on it.  Who am I kidding that's the only time we buy stuff.

The bag that you see in the background is the Wii that Pete won't set up for me.  Trust me if I tried it would be a mess and I'd probably unplug something by accident.  That seems to happen when I try to adjust anything in our complicated professional audio set up.

This dog is absolutely amazing! For any of you who didn't see this story, this is why German Shepherds are the best dogs to have.  Sorry Beige. 

The police video below shows Buddy, a German Shepherd from Alaska, leading a police officer to his owners home workshop that had caught on fire.  It just proves how smart they are.  The dog keeps looking back and stops when the officer slows down to make sure that he's still being followed, when he knows for sure that he is he takes off like a bullet. That's a good dog.

Today we headed up to A-Basin to take a few runs.  Pete's up to 81 days now!  Here is a picture of the lift line.

And we finally took the time to catch up with Lost.  Thankfully a few of the questions we had were answered. 

We've been so busy that I really haven't had a chance to cook that much.  We picked up some all natural local Italian sausage from the store and decided to make it for dinner.  Since it's just the two of us he's what I used:

2 Sausage Links - Hot
1/4 pound wheat angel hair
1 cup Homemade Pasta Sauce
Grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese (optional)
2 slices Grilled Italian Bread

So finally I got a decent shot of pasta

Today Pete and I took a drive we headed over to one of our favorite breakfast places 'The Hard Rock Cafe'
Apparently this place was opened long before the more well known restaurant.  They were sued to change their name but won on that fact.  They were closed for their 2 week break between ski season and the summer season.  It was a bummer but it just meant we would have to try a new place.

We kept heading west on I-70 and decided to try and find something in Sliverthorne.  We'd really like to move there so we got to take a look around and I've never eaten at any of the restaurants there.  The place we found was great.  Pete and I can't remember the name and since I was starving I didn't take any pictures.  The food was great, our waitress was awesome and the specials were super cheap.  We'll definitely be going back.

We decided that since we were almost there that we would head to Breckenridge to check out some of the end of season deals.  We walked the strip and some of the side streets we hadn't been on before. 

I've been meaning to get a shot of this place the last couple times we've been there but it never happened.  The wooden bears are so cute!

You can see that people here are just as considerate as people from NYC!  This truck was so huge that it couldn't even fit in the picture. 

Here is a close up of what that sign says, Nice right?

The thing I love about Breck is the mini restaurants they have around the town, this is one of them and they have a little crepe place that I've been meaning to try that looks very similar. 

Any of who watch The Hills will get a kick out of this spoof.  Especially when you see Heidi post surgery, lol.

There are a few interesting things to report today.  First off on the way to Wal-Mart today a saw there was a bunch of Big Horn Sheep right on the road.  So I made a note to try to take a pic as I drove by on the way home.  It's not the best because I was focusing on the road but you can see how close they are to traffic.
 
We took a drive up towards Central City & Black Hawk on Rte 6 so I snapped a few pictures.  This is one of the most amazing drives I think I've been on so far.  The canyon is beautiful